A couple of things as we enter this new year. First, we have gotten a bit walloped here in California with rains. We need the rain no doubt. But on the very anniversary of the devastating 2018 mudslides in Santa Barbara, January 9, the torrents began and we received almost a whole year’s worth of rain in 24 hours. Many still suffer PTSD from the mudslide 5 years ago, after the biggest fire in history. People lost family members, pets, and of course home and property 5 years ago. Parts of Montecito were literally unrecognizable in areas as I eventually drove through it. Today we are okay, but it was a bit nerve-wracking for a while, and for some it was terrifying. One thing we know is that communities come together when tragedy or potential tragedy strikes, and so those of us who were less nervous for ourselves this time felt great compassion and caring and readiness to help those who were deeply afraid and also vulnerable to property damage. Most did evacuate this time and were personally safe, but weren’t sure what they would go home to over the next couple of days, and some folks in the hills still can’t leave or return because their roads and bridges are blocked or damaged from water or debris.
The second thing is that I have had a recurring conversation with many people as this new year begins. The common theme seems to be that we are in a year of great Unknown. Apparently a lot of us are feeling this sense of the unknown bearing down upon us, and that we must surrender to it as it has its own teaching, its own messages for each of us. During one of these conversations, I found myself tuning into the idea that what is occurring is actually Known, just as yet unseen by us. There is a continuity of activity and forward movement, some say simultaneously on multiple dimensions, and because we don’t see it with our human eyes, or because we haven’t yet experienced it, it feels Unknown to us. For some this can cause a great deal of trepidation and fear. What’s going to happen? How can we control it if we can’t see it? What do I do? Will I be ok?
Because my own spiritual orientation is always seeking to align with higher wisdom and Spirit’s guidance, I know that this insight came to me to remind me, and to share, that there is an invitation here. The invitation as I see it is to refine our attention. Rather than putting fearful attention and worry on the unknown, we can “gather our forces,” as my mother used to say, and meditate on the connection we have to past, present, and future, to the Known, and align with it as an ally, something we are drawn to for the highest good, a wise teacher for us and for humanity, part of our evolutionary path. There is a part of us that does actually Know, and we can affirm that in our awareness and create space inside for it to reveal itself to us in the right time. We just need to stay open. We can enter this with curiosity rather than fear, wonder instead of anxiety, trust instead of control, awake instead of asleep, Soul instead of personality.
So this is my invitation as we start off 2023. Let’s invite and encourage each other to stay awake in the organic process of Knowing that which is always presenting itself even if we can’t see it. Let’s encourage each other to slow down enough, pay attention enough, feel the subtleties that are calling us, to catch that which we might be missing in our busy lives, in our fast pace. Most of all, let’s embrace the invitation to connect and love each other more fully, because none of us does this alone. We always need each other to evolve. We are truly in this together. Always. All ways.
In deep appreciation of you, Reader…
Melanie
Please feel free to reach out to me if you want to explore this conversation more. You can find me at Melanie@innertegrity.com, or visit my website at www.innertegrity.com.